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Opportunity to Help Veterans’ Families in Utah

I saw this in the SL Tribune the other day and forgot to post it. For all of those of us in Utah, and elsewhere, we will soon have the opportunity to show our gratitude to our Veterans and their families by making sure they have a comfortable place to rest and be close to loved ones while treated at the VA Hospital:

The families of veterans coming from afar to receive medical treatment at Salt Lake City’s Veterans Affairs Medical Center sometimes sleep in their cars because they cannot afford to stay in a hotel, state Department of Veterans Affairs director Terry Schow said Monday.

Huff said Fisher House facilities “help in the healing process” by allowing families to be nearby…Schow noted that the Salt Lake hospital has one of the largest coverage areas of any such facility in the V.A. system, with patients coming from hundreds of miles away for care.

Schow said that’s why he and others are throwing their support behind the Fisher House organization, which has named the Salt Lake V.A. campus as one of 10 locations it is considering for the building of a 21-suite hotel where the families of injured service members and veterans can stay. With 37 homes in 16 states and one in Germany (near Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, where combat wounded service members are transported from Iraq and Afghanistan) the privately-run Fisher House facilities are typically opened to families for free or at greatly reduced costs.

Now for the important bit (emphasis added):

…officials say the nonprofit Fisher House Foundation has asked that one-tenth of the $5 million in anticipated construction costs be raised locally – local fundraising chairman Ray Bachiller said he is not yet ready to begin taking checks.

Bachiller said he is going to try to raise the money in small donations from hundreds of community members, rather than seek out a single large donor for the project. “The real importance of a project like this is to make sure it reflects everybody in the community,”

Apparently Bachiller is not geared up for the donations, yet. I will have to try to get some contact information for him and will post how donations can be accepted as soon as possible. In the meantime, the Fisher House Foundation is a great charity focused on helping military families. Check them out – plenty of donation opportunities there (including your airline miles).